如何知道自己是否糊塗了 (如何)(知道)(自己)(是否)(糊塗)(了) (ru2 he2) (zhi1 dao4) (zi4 ji3) (shi4 fou3) (hu2 tu2) (le.) (how to) (to know) (oneself) (yes or no) (confused) (completed action) How to know if you are confused. My tutor has been teaching me about the word 搞 (gao3). It is a lot like the English word “get,” which is, in fact, […]

當你要先做某件事情的時候 (當)(你)(要)(先)(做)(某)(件)(事情)(的時候) (dang1) (ni3) (yao4) (xian1) (zuo4) (mou3) (jian4) (shi4 qing2) (de. shi2 hou4) (just at) (you) (to want) (first) (to do) (some) (measure word) (affair, matter) (when) When you want to do something first In everyday conversation, there is often the desire to communicate the order of things. What did you do […]

One of the worst nightmares in speaking a foreign language is saying something really embarrassing. Tones are the typical reason this happens to non-native Chinese speakers. You can’t really fault the native speakers for giggling if you call your mother 媽媽(ma1 ma.) a horse 馬 (ma3) accidentally. There is some consolation in it being a […]

Shopping vocabulary is something that helped me practice speaking Chinese because when we lived in Taiwan for a few months, most people I came across while shopping did not speak any intelligible English. I recall being told by another American business man’s wife that the most useful shopping words I would learn would be: 不要 […]